A Touch of Paradise
by CasablancaInTheTardis
Summary: 10Rose. The honeymoon after their brief wedding the Doctor and Rose go to a distant planet for their honeymoon. Unfortunately they get into a spot of bother. Fluff, romance, humour, angst Gallifrey..? Sequel to 'Til Death Do Us Part'
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, but really - is anyone shocked by this revelation? I think not!

AN - This is the first chapter in the story "Touch of Paradise" which is the sequel to "Til Death Do Us Part" which is the sequel to "To You I Belong", so if you havent read those, I highly recommend them!

There isn't any explicit content in this chapter or chapters to come (even though it's their honeymoon!) but it is implied and mentioned - just never described.

Apologies for teh excessive line-y-ness of this chapter - it was necessary in order to establish not only the plot but the setting, etc, so bear with me :)

This is fluff and romance mostly, but later on there shall be a bit of action, sadness, Gallifrey (yes, you heard right!) and a proper wedding. So stay tuned!! And Enjoy :)

* * *

Chapter 1 - Oh What A Night: 

Back in the Tardis, the Doctor and Rose were desperately searching for a bedroom, but the Tardis was not helping them out.

"This really isn't funny!" said the Doctor sternly after having searched all the Eastern corridors (where their bedrooms were usually located) and finding nothing.

"Why won't she let us get to our rooms?" Rose moaned impatiently.

"Well," said the Doctor, grabbing Rose round the waist and pulling her backwards towards him, "Either there's some planet or other that we have to save urgently and she's trying to hint subtly at us to get to it, or she is being highly inappropriate and wants us to do it on the console"

"You want to have sex in full view of a voyeuristic time machine? Well I'm up for it, where do I start?" Rose grinned.

"What ever happened to good old fashioned foreplay? Or wedding traditions, for that matter? Not that I'm a human or set much store by antiquated traditions, but I was really looking forward to a) carrying you over the threshold, b) ravishing you on some beach somewhere exotic for our honeymoon, and c) sleeping in the same bed as you" he finished in vague annoyance.

"Considering you skipped the first two steps, what makes you think you'll get to number three?" she raised an eyebrow.

"I was really looking forward to step b actually, but I spose you're right. Come here" he scooped Rose up and kicked his way out of the Tardis door.

"Righty-oh then, over the threshold we go!" and he stepped slowly and with all due purpose through the doorway, to be met with a long passionate kiss from Rose.

"Now, what was that about step b?" she grinned, as the Tardis whirred into life of its own accord, no doubt taking them somewhere very special.

* * *

"The thing about foreplay" the Doctor said, tracing a hand across Rose's exposed collar bone, "Is that it has to focus on all the particularly delicate and sensitive areas of the body. For example, the neck", he licked the hollow of her neck, trailing kisses up her jaw line, to meet her on the mouth, as if to illustrate this point. 

"No Doctor," Rose breathed, "the thing about foreplay is that it only really works when it's with someone you love" she whispered the word love, as though it was a big secret.

"You've got to stop that Rose Tyler or I'll get a big head"

"Too late," she grinned, leaning in for another lingering kiss. But the Doctor pulled away quickly, now intent on completing another task - the undoing of Rose Tyler's buttons…

* * *

Despite the fact that the Tardis had landed somewhere completely secluded and romantic - it was their honeymoon after all - Rose and the Doctor were too absorbed in one another to even notice. As a result, they spent the entire time in the Doctor's bedroom, missing out on the white sands and turquoise waters of the Clarabellas beach on the planet Neuvolima. Had they actually bothered to leave the Tardis, they might've noticed the amazing thunderstorms that threw purple and gold lightening across the skies or the year-round summery breeze that smelt like jasmine and rain. They may have even noticed the horde of ethereal golden-haired humanoids, crowded around the Tardis, trying to force entry…

* * *

"Doctor?" Rose asked, as she lay comfortably in his arms. 

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering, when we're.. you know, done in here, do you want to go out and explore our honeymoon destination?" she asked, gazing up at him in order to gauge his response.

"Sure thing. But, and correct me if you feel differently, I'm far from done," he grinned.

"I was hoping you'd say that" replied Rose, who proceeded to explore the Doctor's mouth with her tongue instead.

* * *

**Next Chapter:** Shall involve an explanation of the strange aliens surrounding the Tardis, plus lots more romance and fluff, probably

Please Review if you have time !


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Cries hysterically... you get where I'm coming from!

AN - this is mostly just cute fluff and explanations in the form of the Tardis Fact File. I thought it was a pretty good idea coz it gives readers the required info, but doesn't necessarily mean that the Doctor has to know it yet or that he has to explain it in that gorgeous rambling way of his.

anyway, please review if you get time - i hope you enjoy it :)

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Chapter 2 - Beans for Breakfast:

The next morning - if you could call it morning, it's difficult to tell in the Tardis - Rose awoke to find the Doctor beside her snoring soundly. She smiled to herself. Who would've guessed that the Doctor would snore? Then again, he was fairly loud when he was awake - it shouldn't really surprise her that he made so much noise when he was sleeping. No sooner had she thought this than he opened a bleary eye, fixing her with his chocolaty brown gaze.

"Why are you staring at me, Rose?"

"You were snoring" she said, barely suppressing a grin.

"I was not!" he cried indignantly, sitting completely upright in the bed.

"You were too, Doctor. Don't worry, it's not like I mind or anything. In fact, it's kinda cute" Rose smiled.

"You think so?" asked the Doctor, his expression immediately changing.

"Of course - very cute" she insisted, knowing where the conversation was headed.

"Very cute?" said the Doctor, as he wrapped an arm around Rose's middle and pulled her in for a kiss. Before he got a chance to do anything else, Rose pushed him away (using all her will power to break the kiss) and told him in a stern voice "You promised we could explore wherever it is that we are today. So let's go!". The Doctor heaved a sigh.

"Do we absolutely have to go right now?" he moaned.

"Yes. Do you remember step b, Doctor?" Rose added coyly.

"Step b, step b, that was.. Ohhh, right. Well, what are we waiting for? Exotic shores await us" he leapt out of bed and headed out the door.

"I'll just get some breakfast" called Rose. The Doctor immediately popped his head back in the door.

"Breakfast? Do we have to?" an undeniable tone of impatience in his voice.

"First breakfast as husband and wife" Rose reminded him.

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot," then catching Rose's expression, "I mean, err. I'll go start breakfast" and with that he dashed out of the room.

* * *

_Tardis Fact file 1:_

Neuvolians are a unique race, native to the planet Neuvolima. They are composed mostly of a gaseous compound and are able to appear invisible to the naked eye (of humans) as a result. However, when they are visible, they are seen to be humanoid in appearance, with two arms, two legs, a torso and one head. Their heads are commonly crowned with flowing golden hair, but the males of the species tend to have slightly darker hair, and tribal elders have only a single plait to signify their importance within the community. Neuvolians are able to communicate both telepathically and by the spoken word which makes them such unique creatures. The varied tribes of the Neuvolians inhabit the numerous coastlines of the continents of the small planet. They gain their energy from solar radiation from the twin suns that orbit the planet in a figure eight shape. The Neuvolians have always been peaceful and rational beings since the creation of their planet. However, over recent months, their planet has been under attack by an outside force. The natives are unsure of how to combat the new threat as they are not versed in either the art of warfare or the delicate nature of diplomacy - a direct result of having been in solitude for eons. With limited technology and a distinct separation from the outside world, they have been unable to send out a distress signal or SOS message to passing travellers or other planets. However, their telepathic form of communication allows them to emit brainwaves in order to lure any other being with such powers to the planet so as to enlist their help.

* * *

Sitting across from Rose at the breakfast table was a completely surreal experience for the Doctor, who was now dressed in his classic pinstripe suit and converses, eating beans on toast and drinking a cup of tea. Rose was similarly bemused at the situation she'd found herself in. Over the past, what, 48 hours she had been transported from a parallel universe back to her original universe, been reunited with the man she loved, been abducted by aliens, been rescued by the man she loved, been married to the man she loved by a close friend, had spent the wedding night with the man she loved (which probably was the least unusual part) and was now sitting across the table from him, eating some rather tasty beans on toast that he, the love of her life, had cooked for her. Now they were about to go outside of their time and relative dimension in space machine and explore the surprise destination of their very own honeymoon. _Really,_ Rose thought to herself, _this can't get any better._

_Wanna bet? _the Doctor interrupted.

"Oi, that's private," said Rose, aiming a kick at him from under the small table they shared.

"Ouch! Okay, I'm sorry. Didn't mean to pry. I just got bored with my own thoughts and decided that you would be more interesting. After all, we are man and wife - no secrets" he grinned. Rose just grinned at him.

"Man and wife. That's going to take some getting used to"

"Tell me about it. Never been married before. Well, not to you anyway"

"What!" cried Rose, nearly falling over in shock.

"Oh, right, the no secrets thing. I have been married before. I was a dad once, too. Before the war" he trailed off, looking incredibly melancholy. Although she was positively burning with questions about his family that she never knew existed, Rose knew enough to drop the subject. The Time War had always been something of a touchy subject with the Doctor - he had lost his entire planet and all his people, after all - it was completely understandable. Besides, the Doctor had mentioned that he was a dad once before to Rose - just in passing, he never really explained…

"So when and/or where are we exactly" Rose attempted a change of topic, and it was seized upon gratefully by the Doctor. Really, she knew him too well.

"We are some time during the forty fifth century on the planet of Neuvolima. Not sure where exactly, thought. Probably best to go outside and have a peek," he rose from the table, collecting his and Rose's plates and sticking them in the sink. How domestic.

"It's a planet covered in beautiful little islands, surrounded by clear blue seas. You get the most incredible sunsets here. Two suns orbiting this place."

"So, it's all beaches and sunshine then?" Rose said, grinning. "At last I can get a half decent tan"

"Don't go overboard. I like you just the way you are. No tan necessary."

"Just the way I am, huh? So I shouldn't go get changed into my sexy beach clothes then?"

"Now I never said that" he said firmly, looking up from running the sink full of soapy water.

"Well aren't you going to change, then?"

"Nah, this suit's completely multipurpose. Works everywhere" he replied nonchalantly.

"If it is a beach, you are going to cook" said Rose.

"I like this suit. The suit stays"

"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you" Rose cautioned, pointing a finger at him before leaving the room.

_When did she become so bossy?_ The Doctor asked himself.

"I heard that!"

* * *

If anyone has any ideas on who the alien threat to the Neuvolians should be please let me know... but i have a few ideas in mind

Thanks for the great reviews so far - keep them coming:)


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who... or do I?

AN - This is mostly backstory with a nice helping of Rose10 fluff.

I hope you like it :)

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Chapter 3 - Meet the Neighbours:

The Neuvolians clustered around the Tardis paled in shock as the doors to the big blue box began to open. Nearly invisible with fear, they stood resolute, awaiting their fate. What if this was yet another alien threat to their peaceful planet? They couldn't even cope with one invasive force - they would crumble before a second. But they had to hope - maybe this was the salvation they had been calling for. They assembled behind the tribal elder, who shimmered inconsistently a few steps away from the opening doors. A blonde girl tripped out, laughing over her shoulder at something still inside. She turned to face the crowd in front of her, all laughter ceasing immediately. At this point, a second person emerged with a look of concern on his face. He wore a brown pinstriped suit and white converses; he had not yet noticed the crowd around them.

"Rose, what's wrong?" he asked. He looked about, taking in his surroundings and said simply "Oh, right".

"Hello," he said, genially extending a hand towards the apparent leader, "I'm the Doctor, and this is Rose. Might I ask why you're standing around my ship?"

"I am the leader of this tribe. You stand on the shore of the Clarabellas on the planet Neuvolima. You are here for a purpose. We need your help"

"At least they get straight to the point" Rose said, an ironic smile creeping across her face. _So much for a romantic honeymoon,_ she thought.

"We are sorry that we interrupted your romantic interlude. At the moment, our needs are greater than yours. We need your help" it repeated.  
"Okay, why can everyone hear what I'm thinking - it's starting to get really annoying" Rose said, glaring at the Doctor.

"It's not my fault! We're on the planet Neuvolima, the people here can communicate by telepathy. Makes sense that they can hear what's in your head."

"Trust you to pick the only planet in the universe for our honeymoon that needs rescuing and that can also, incidentally, read my mind" she replied dryly.

"Don't look at me, it was the Tardis. She's slightly telepathic, you know that. She's alive. She must've heard their cry for help and taken us here. That's right, isn't it?"

"That is correct. We do not have the technology to send a distress signal, so we sent out the telepathic waves." the leader replied.

"So, two questions. What's wrong and what can we do to help?" asked the Doctor, stepping back next to Rose.

"Our planet has been under attack. A family of foreign beings invaded unbeknownst to fellow tribes. We do not know who they are or why they chose our planet, but we fear that we may be the last ones left. Can you help us?" desperation clear in the elder's voice.

"Well, that's what we do best, isn't it Rose?" he winked at her, "Be back in a mo, just going to do a scan for alien tech".  
"Finally some Spock!" Rose cried, throwing her hands up in mock praise and following him into the Tardis.

"Hey, I do Spock all the time, thank you very much!" the Doctor said indignantly, "But for your information Rose Tyler, some of us can do without it - I'm a genius without the gadgets".

"So why the scan then?"

"It's quicker. You know…. We were kinda in the middle of something."

"Oh, I see" she said, following him into the Tardis, grinning from ear to ear. The doors shut automatically behind them as the Doctor wandered over to the television-style screen on the console, pressing some random buttons haphazardly.

"Rose Tyler" she said, lightly. "Rose Tyler"

"Why are you saying your name over and over again?" asked the Doctor, not looking up from the screen.

"It's just that we're married now. But I'm still Rose Tyler. It's just strange coz on Earth I would take your last name." He looked up at her, frowning slightly.

"Would you take my name, though - if you knew what it was?" he asked, genuinely curious - it wasn't something he had given a great deal of thought to.

"Well, depends what it is. But I don't think so. I love you Doctor, but I think I'd keep my name. To remind me of mum and home and stuff, you know?" she smiled sadly.

"When I find a way to cross safely, I'll take you back for visits, I promise"

"Yeah, I know…. What's she gonna do when she finds out we're married!" Rose cried suddenly, laughing. "Oh my god, she is going to slap you so hard!"

"Great, well that's a fantastic incentive to cross the breach. There's a Jackie slap waiting on the other side. Brilliant" he said sarcastically.

"Oh, come on Doctor, she's not that bad" Rose said.

"You've never been on the receiving end of one of her slaps, have you?" he questioned. But Rose was denied an opportunity to reply for at this moment the console gave a particularly loud _ding_ and the Doctor strode back over to the screen, which had detected and identified the other aliens on the small planet.

"Found them then?" Rose asked, "What are they?"

"Oh Rose," the Doctor said seriously, but nearly smiling out of the ridiculousness of it all, "You are not going to believe this".

* * *

AN - Who can guess who the mysterious aliens are? I've given hardly any clues so good luck guessing, lol

If you have the time please review and stay tuned :)


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of it's tie-in merchandise.

AN - Having said that, I did use a lot of information about the... aliens in this story from the book "Doctor who: Monsters and Villains" because I wanted it to be as authentic as possible.

Hope these aliens do not disappoint! Enjoy :)

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Chapter 4 - Guess Who?:

"You are not going to believe this" the Doctor said, looking at Rose seriously - trying to keep from smiling lest the bizarreness of the situation spoil the gravity of things.

"What Doctor? What are they?" Rose asked, a trace of fear in her voice.

"Rose, do you remember - back in the day - when I had a Northern accent, and big ears. Do you remember when we first went back to visit your mum?"

"Yeah, we'd been away for a whole year. She slapped you!" she grinned remembering her mother's anger at the Doctor, which in hindsight was a lot more entertaining.

"Do you remember what happened after that?" he asked.  
"Yeah, I remember… that spaceship crashed into Big Ben and, and we visited Downing Street!" she turned to look at him.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me" she said, gob smacked.

"Nope. They're back. It's the Slitheen"

* * *

Tardis Fact File 2:

The Slitheen are a notorious criminal family of the Raxacoricofallapatorius race. They hail from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorius - a beautiful and ancient planet of wild forestry and marble palaces. Generally speaking, Raxacoricofallapatorians are civilised, elegant and proud. However, the family Slitheen - descendants of the original Huspick Degenerate, were born away from the main planetary continent, on the Islands of Hisp. As a result, the family were able to raise their children away from the traditions and courtesies of the ancient race. The family grew to be known for their criminal activities, including drug-running, arms-dealing and the infiltration and gradual control of the government. The Slitheen family were brought to justice by the Doctor (in his ninth form) with the help of Rose Tyler, Mickey Smith and Harriet Jones, the later Prime-Minister of Great Britain. They killed the entire family with a missile aimed at 10 Downing Street. Only one survived: Blon Fel-Fotch Pasameer-Day Slitheen, who continued to masquerade as Margaret Blaine. She later attempted to cause a nuclear melt down in the heart of Cardiff city in order to get transport off of Earth. She was then turned back into an egg and returned to Raxacoricofallapatorius as an orphan.

The family Slitheen is the most wanted group of Raxacoricofallapatorians. However, their cousins from both the families Blathereen and Rackateen are also descended from the Huspick degenerate and are known to have been involved in criminal dealings in the past. If their home planet had discovered this (as they discovered the Slitheen's indiscretions in the Great Purge of Yon:556) they, like the Slitheen, would be in hiding or trying to make a living on some far off planet.

* * *

"But how can it be the Slitheen? We wiped out their whole family when Mickey launched the missile. The only one that was left was turned back into an egg by the Tardis - we saw it happen! It's not possible" she continued in an awed voice. _Mind you, we don't really seem to grasp the concept of impossible_, she thought.

"Right you are, Rose. Never think things are impossible."

"You really have to stop doing that!" Rose cautioned.

"Make me"

"Fine, I will"

"I'd like to see you try" he teased. Then, remembering what they had been discussing only seconds before, "Right, where was I? Yes, technically, they aren't part of the actual Slitheen family - they are, however, a family from Raxacoricofallapatorius. I just thought it'd be easier to call them Slitheen. Who knows, they might be related!" he grinned.

"Okay, so what do we do about them? Blast them into oblivion like last time? Line them up and have them all look at the heart of the Tardis?" she joked.

"Well, I can't exactly reason with them, can I?" said the Doctor, "Last time I tried that with their species, they tried to electrocute me. Nope, talking to them is definitely a last resort".

"So what do we do then?" Rose wondered. "What about how mum and Mickey did it last time? They sort of exploded their Slitheen with vinegar and stuff. Should we do the same?"

"Oh Rose Tyler, you're a genius!" the Doctor said, despite the fact that he had been thinking of the same plan without her help. But he let her have her moment of glory.

"Okay, so we need like vinegar or something."

"Acetic acid, yeah" the Doctor corrected.

"K, but how much? I mean, how many are there?"

"According to the scan, there's only a family of about 20. That's tiny, for a Raxacoricofallapatorian family group. And apparently they're… oh, did they have to?"

"What is it Doctor?" Rose asked, frowning.

"They're camped out exactly where I was planning on taking you for dinner" he sighed, looking at the Tardis screen that displayed their whereabouts.

"That'd be right. We're on our honeymoon, enjoying one another's company when a family of aliens decide to take our dinner reservation."

"Pretty much, yeah. But why are they here? I mean, Raxacoricofallapatorius is millions of light years away. It would've taken them ages to get here - lots of time and energy just to reach this tiny little planet. Why?"

"Don't spose they want to turn the planet into a ball of radioactive rubbish and then sell it off bit by bit, like the Slitheen wanted to do to Earth?" Rose wondered.

"Now, that's not a half bad guess. But this planet is completely unarmed, they don't have the resources to launch a missile at themselves or build a self-destructive nuclear power station."

"That reminds me of Cardiff" Rose interjected.

"You know what, I think we should go and talk to these Slitheen."

Rose sighed, "How did I know you were gonna say that?"

"Psychic Link"

"You know what I mean"

"Yeah, I was just kidding. Sorry. So, shall we?" he offered her his arm.

"Why not?" Rose countered, looping her arm through his.

"Oh, hold on," said the Doctor, breaking contact and bounding back into the rabbit warren of corridors that made up the Tardis. "I just need to get some acetic acids" he yelled. Several minutes later he strode back into the console room to find Rose leaning against the doors, arms folded across her chest.

"You know, and I'm not complaining, I promise - coz I love doing this more than anything in the world," she paused slightly, "But this isn't exactly how I imagined my honeymoon. Mind you, our wedding wasn't exactly how I pictured it either." The Doctor walked over to her, uncrossed her arms, and took one of her hands in his.

"I'm sorry, Rose" he said simply, "I swear I had no idea that this was going to happen. I don't mean to find trouble. It just sort of has a habit of finding me" he looked at her guiltily. Rose couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't have it any other way" she said, "Now let's get a move on. Don't want to leave it too long, before we know it this planet could be…" she shrugged.

"Good point. Off we go, then" said the Doctor, once again joining arms with Rose as they waled out the Tardis doors.

"Just wondering Doctor"

"Yes Rose?"

"Where'd you put all that acid?"

"Pockets, they're bigger on the inside".

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Stay tuned - i will post more soon

in the meantime, feel free to review :) hope you liked it!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: ... Do I have to disclaim something if I never claimed to own it..? Just wondering

AN - This is short, mostly backstory with a light sprinkle of fluff to make it nice - hope you like it :)

I decided to start this chapter with a Tardis Fact File because it's a relatively straight forward way of explaining stuff. Also it is good for descripitions if I don't want the dialogue to get in the way of said description. I think they're a good idea - but that's because I thought of it, so that doesn't count for much - but if you would prefer me to just have the Doctor explain everything, let me know. Thanks! enjoy:

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Chapter 5 - The Hazards of Mountaineering in Wet Weather:

Tardis Fact File 3:

The planet Neuvolima is covered in unique islands of white sands and turquoise waters. The islands themselves are typical of the tropical islands that can be found on the planet Earth in the Milky Way. However, there are several differences that set these two planets apart. Firstly, on the planet Neuvolima, it is summer all year round and there is the constant smell of jasmine flowers and rain in the air to create this atmosphere. Secondly, the island beaches of Neuvolima are prone to unexpected thunderstorms where purple and gold lightening can often be seen - although, if it strikes flesh, it will only leave the recipient with a mild tingly feeling in their feet (a side-effect can also include increased sex-drive as the lightening can act as an aphrodisiac). And thirdly, the inhabitants of the two planets are clearly quite different as they come from opposite ends of the universe.

The Island of Serenity, as it is known to the natives, has one main beach - the Clarabellas Beach - which is renowned for they remarkable way in which the edge of the beach breaks directly into harsh tropical shrubbery - the rainforest reaches the reef almost directly. The beautiful tropical scenery continues all the way to the top of the mountains in the centre of the island. These mountains are shrouded in mist and are places of worship to the native tribes.

* * *

After informing the Neuvolian elder that they were going to go and confront the 'threatening aliens', the Doctor and Rose started off in the direction of the tropical mountains. Hiking up the increasingly steep mountainside, no longer holding hands due to the humidity, they looked around themselves with apprehension.

Rose stopped, "Where exactly are the Slitheen supposed to be, Doctor?" she asked, panting a bit - after all it had been a year since she had been with him and doing all that running.

"According to the Tardis they should be just over the peak of this mountain. There's like am alcove in the side of it - amazing view. I was gonna show you the sunsets." he said, looking at Rose intensely.

"We'll see them after we get the Slitheen, how bout that?" Rose said, continuing in the hike.

Several minutes, possibly half and hour later, they had reached the half way point. It was at this stage that they began to notice the dark, heavy-looking clouds that were forming overhead.

"We should probably hurry up. I don't like the look of that adiabatic expansion" he pointed to the darkened centre of the clouds. "We're gonna get drenched if we don't get under cover soon".

"What are we standing around chatting about the weather for then? Come on" Rose grabbed his hand and tugged him along.

"So, are you actually going to talk to the Slitheen, coz before you said talking to them was definitely a last resort, but then you said that we should go and see them and take some acetic acid with us"

"Yes, well, the plan would be to go and blow them up seeing as how we know they're out to get this planet or something along those lines. But you know that I can't just sentence them to death on an assumption. Also, it's not in my nature," he added as an afterthought. "Mind you, I can't really see them relenting, can you? I reckon we're probably going to have to use the acid after all" he said sadly.

"But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it" said Rose, taking his hand, "Look, I think we're almost there". No sooner were those words out of her mouth, than there was a ridiculously loud rumble of thunder followed by a bolt of purple lightening about 200 metres to Rose's left. She screamed.

"Let's go, let's go, let's go!". As she and the Doctor pelted up the hill, tripping over rocks and fallen branches, the skies over head opened up and fresh torrential rain poured down over them. They were soaked through within seconds. Rose's red bikini was now visible through the saturated excuse for a dress that, because it was white, was now see-through. The Doctor, on the other hand, was struggling to shed is shirt jacket - the weight of the water trapped in his clothing was slowing him down considerably, particularly in this stifling heat. He stopped and with frustration tried to wrestle the offending piece of clothing off of his wet under shirt. Rose turned around, noticing that the Doctor was no-longer beside her.

"Doctor, come on, we're nearly there-" but her rant was interrupted as a gold bolt of lightening shot down right in front of her and struck the Doctor to the ground.

* * *

yay - i did a cliff-hanger! although, you should be able to guess what happens next thanks to that handy Tardis fact file ;P

so please review if you have time

and i will update soon:)


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or... well, anything interesting really. I do have a cardboard Tardis though - hours of entertainment right there.

AN - This is mostly fluff and is a bit suggestive so, yeah. It gives Rose a chance to be the hero for a change and there will be more of that in the next chapter. So i hope you like it :)

* * *

Chapter 6 - Thunder and Lightening:

"Oh my God! Doctor!" Rose cried, running over to the now unconscious time lord sprawled out like Da Vinci's Vitruvian man (albeit fully clothed) on a patch of frazzled undergrowth. "Doctor, oh my God, oh my God," Rose's vocabulary was frighteningly limited given the shock she'd just received.

_We've only just gotten back together, you can't do this,_ she thought frantically.

"Okay, okay, first aid. What did mum always say? Check for a pulse? That sounds right" she muttered to herself. She extended two fingers to the side of the Doctor's neck, and then double checked his wrist. _I can't find a pulse. There are two hearts inside this chest of his, it should be doubly easy to find a pulse! _She cried out in frustration.

"No pulse, no pulse! Umm, CPR, mouth to mouth?" she asked herself out loud. Leaning over her husband, Rose pressed down hard with both hands over his left heart, then his right. When she received no response and fear gripped her even more tightly in the stomach, she bent over him, placing her lips on his, forcing oxygen into his lungs. Of course, in her state of distress she had forgotten two very important things. One - if the lightening had killed him, he could simply regenerate (although that would be a small consolation) and two - the Doctor had previously explained that the lightening on this planet never kills one who is struck by it, it merely gives them a mild shock. So it was a great surprise to Rose when the Doctor, instead of emerging from his unconscious state coughing and gasping for air, began kissing her while she was in the middle of giving him mouth to mouth. Needless to say, she quickly pulled away, holding him at arms length, and giving him the once over just to check that he really was okay.

"You frightened me half to death" she managed to laugh, before embracing him tightly once more.

"You know me, Rose, I'm simply unstoppable" he grinned, before pulling her back on top of him for another passionate joining of lips. While Rose was curious about the Doctor's sudden… hunger, she was rather enjoying herself and allowed him to continue kissing him for several minutes. Finally, gasping for air, she resurfaced. One look at their surroundings reminded her of the reason that they had been climbing the blasted mountain in the first place - they needed to get to those Slitheen!

"Doctor, come on, we really need to go now" she said, scrambling to her feet. The Doctor pouted at her, propping himself up onto his elbows.

"We don't have to" he whined, "We could just, you know, stay here. Enjoy the scenery," he looked at Rose at this point, lust clearly visible in his deep brown eyes.

"The Slitheen, though, we've gotta go now" Rose insisted.

With a resigned look on his face the Doctor sprung to his feet and began to walk ahead of Rose. Believing that he had finally come around, Rose followed. Several steps later, however, the Doctor spun around and grabbed Rose around her waist, spinning her in a circle so that her feet actually left the ground. Rose giggled, all seriousness lost, "Doctor! Put me back down".

"No way Rose. Fighting the bad guys can wait, we are more important right now. Honeymoon, remember?" he grinned mischievously, dragging Rose over to a clear patch of ground.

"Seriously though, Doctor, what has gotten into you? Saving this planet has to be top priority" _It would have been top priority for the man I married,_ she thought to herself. What had happened? Why was he acting so strange? And then she remembered. The Doctor had told her that the lightening - particularly the gold bolts - had the effect of an aphrodisiac on the person who was struck by it. _Well that explains a lot… pity. _

"Okay, Doctor. Supposing I went along with this," Rose said in the most seductive voice she could muster, "Is it going to be like last time in the Tardis, which was amazing. Or maybe we could try something a little… different." she invented wildly, trying to think of a way to prevent disaster and leave her time lord unharmed at the same time.

"Just what did you have in mind Miss Tyler?" he raised an eyebrow. _Something to keep him here while I deal with the Slitheen - I can't have him face them like this. Something to keep him occupied, something to keep him tied-up. Tied up!_

"I don't know about you Doctor, but I would very much like to surprise you" said Rose, glancing about for some rope or something else with which she could bind the Doctor. She spotted a supple looking vine hanging from the tree behind the Doctor's head. She moved forwards quickly and held him in a passionate embrace. Lips locked on his, but eyes wide open, she yanked the vine down from behind the Doctor (who, incidentally, was too busy enjoying himself to notice), and swiftly looped it around the Doctor. Thankfully one of Jackie's exes - the one who had worked in the navy - had taught her how to tie a proper knot. Applying this knowledge, she secured the Doctor to the tree behind him. All done while kissing him - Rose made a mental note to congratulate herself later. She broke away from his lips and it was at this point that the Doctor noticed he was tied up.

"Hey! What are you… oh, I see. It's different, I'll give you that," he said looking at her, "but come back. It's no fun if you're over there," he moaned.

"Sorry Doctor, it's for your own good. I need to go and deal with those Slitheen before they destroy this planet or something"

"But I can't let you go on your own. Rose, it could be dangerous!" he said, sounding like his normal self.

"You can't come with me now. You've been hit by that lightening, don't you remember? You won't be able to focus on anything else but, well... you know. And from what I can tell, that won't help. So you're staying right here" she said firmly. And with that, Rose Tyler turned on her heel, scooped up the Doctor's jacket from the ground and continued up the mountainside, leaving a very frustrated time lord behind.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who (shock horror!)

AN - Go Rose! Sure she's nervous and having second thoughts but our heroine is about to do great things - enjoy!

Also, sorry it's been a while since I've updated. I was going to do two chapters to make up for it but I'm literally about to fall asleep... I hope this chapter makes sense, but knowing me it probs won't. I used the delta wave and extrapolators - probably incorrectly - but I'm claiming poetic license! Any questions shall be answered if you ask me. Although, obviously I hope it does make sense and there will be no need for question/answer time.

happy reading :)

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Chapter 7 - Family Reunion:

As Rose pushed her way through the dense vegetation she wondered about what she had just done. She was on her honeymoon, and yet she was all by herself by her own doing. The Doctor had been struck by lightening, so she had tied him up. Some dangerous Slitheen were threatening the planet, so she was going to go and face them alone. All in all her decisions over the past few hours hadn't exactly been intelligent. And now she had to go and deal with a bunch of (in all probability) murderous Slitheen. Rose steeled herself for the confrontation that she knew was to come as she came to the edge of the vegetation…

Sitting in a large hollowed out area in the side of the mountain were the Raxacoricofallapatorians, lazing in the mist in all their slimy green glory. From where Rose was crouched behind a grey weather-worn boulder she could see that the Doctor was correct in saying that there were twenty of them. She could hear their croaking voices, carried on the now-gentle breeze over to her. They appeared to be arguing with one another, their voices getting louder with every word.

"It is time. We must carry out the plan now or we will never get off this god-forsaken rock" the biggest of the green monsters stated.

"But we are not ready, the Delta Wave has not yet reached full capacity for damage and our extrapolators aren't properly positioned" argued another, just as heatedly.

"We should abandon that plan, then. There will be a solar flare in less than two hours. We can channel this energy into our ship and use it to destroy the planet" said the first.

_This is the moment, _Rose thought to herself, _time to be the Doctor._ She stepped out from behind the boulder, and walked slowly but purposefully towards the ring of aliens. Several of them noticed her approaching and began to hiss gently. Rose could smell the stench of bad breath - calcium decay - and had to try very hard not to be sick. Nerves were now taking hold.

_Stay calm. Don't let them know you're nervous. Act with authority. You can do this,_ she said to herself. The largest of the aliens spoke first. Well, rather, it raised it's ugly head and drew itself up to its full height, letting out an almighty roar. _Bugger!_

"On behalf of the citizens of Neuvolima," Rose began, clutching the vial of acetic acid tightly in her sweaty palm, "I must ask you to leave this planet in peace. According to the ancient planetary rights as set down in article 15 of the Shadow Proclamation, you are no longer allowed to scavenge here" Rose declared, amazingly able to keep her voice from shaking.

"Why should we listen to you? A human girl and so far from home. We can smell your fear and your insecurity. We could silence you with a single blow" said the shorter one who had previously been arguing. It was now on its feet and lumbering slowly towards her, gigantic taloned fingers outstretched.

"I'd really advise you to think about that" Rose warned, her fear ebbing away as she remembered that she was not unarmed.

"Oh really, and why is that?" they taunted, bearing down on her now - less than five metres away.

"Because I know what you are, and I know how to stop you." she replied, brandishing the vial in front of the Slitheen.

"Ooh, we're so scared of a tube of water" it scoffed, the others laughing throatily.

"It's not water," challenged Rose, stepping forwards. This startled the Slitheen enough to silence them.

"It's acetic acid" Rose said, smirking, "Because, incidentally, that's what you need to kill a Raxacoricofallapatorian." The mass intake of breath was greatly satisfying to Rose, who inwardly gave a sigh of relief that for now she had the upper hand. And so she continued to talk.

"You see, I've encountered a relative of yours. Same planet. Knowing your intentions against this harmless planet, I'm guessing you're probably from the same gene pool. Does Slitheen ring any bells?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Their name is blasphemy to us!" a random called from the group.

"They dishonoured the family" cried another.

"We are the honourable and true Rackateen"

"Hold on," interjected Rose, "No offence but you lot aren't exactly squeaky clean. A few minutes ago you were debating about how best to destroy this planet. It seems to me that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it?"

"Why do you think we had to come here?" the apparent leader asked. "We were humiliated and shamed by the Slitheen. In the Great Purge of Yon:556 they were uncovered as criminal masterminds. Their influences were spread far and wide - even parts of the noble government were under their control. When all this came out, of course, it became known that both our families were descended from the original Huspick degenerate. We were shunned. Disgraced. We had no option but to leave our great planet and never return." he finished tragically.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you lot can go around invading other people's planets and killing them" she countered angrily. "There's only one tribe left on this planet and that's all because of you!"

"We had planned on selling off the planet in molten chunks to the highest bidders" the leader admitted. _Hmm, familiar._

"We need the money to survive in this galaxy, as we have no chance of returning back home to our jobs, to our homes, our lives!" he continued. Rose felt a stab of pity for the creatures, but remained stony faced.

"What was the Delta Wave for, then? And the extrapolators? You're not telling me everything" said Rose firmly, refusing to get emotionally involved - she needed to maintain perspective and rationality - she needed to be like the Doctor.

"If no-one came to buy the slag of this planet within the first hour, then we would still be able to ride the shock waves to another planet where we could start all over again". Rose barely believed that they were all being so open and honest with her about their plans. Then again, death must be a pretty strong incentive to get someone talking, she supposed.

"Do you want to know what happened to your relatives, the Slitheen?" she asked smoothly.

"It is no matter to us" the leader replied, "We care not"

"Oh but I think you will care. Coz you see, me and my friend the Doctor destroyed them. Blew them up with a missile because they were threatening my home planet. And I have no reservations about doing the same thing again if you won't leave this planet alone" she said, raising her chin in defiance to the massive beast before her.

"So what are you going to do now?" she asked, keeping her voice firm and even.

"We will leave this planet, of course" it said, tone bordering on sarcasm.

"Really?" asked Rose in surprise.

"No" it laughed as it launched itself towards her.

"Ahhh!" she cried out as she threw the vial at him. He stopped mid pounce, looked down at his chest where the acid had hit and then promptly exploded, sending green goop everywhere. Quickly reaching into the Doctor's jacket which she had slung over one arm like a waiter, Rose groped for the second, larger bottle of acid. Panicking slightly as she realised that the Doctor was right in saying that the pockets were in fact bigger on the inside, Rose found the bottle and threw it into the middle of the Slitheen. They were conveniently all standing in a circle around a campfire of sorts, having gotten up and ready to fight the bold girl. Luckily the bottle managed to land in the centre of the fire, resulting in an explosion that threw Rose to the ground. Yet again, everything went black.

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I'm sorry about continually leaving Rose unconscious but it's important in terms of plot development, trust me

reviews equal more chapters

just kidding, but if you have time please review :) and thanks for all the great reviews so far!

**coming next chapter:** Will the Doctor ever get over his lightening induced lust? Will he be able to revive Rose? (of course he will) Will e be in emotional upheaval after destroying a family? and will this remind him painfully of his own losses? (a lot of hint there so stay tuned!)


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: can you hear the sound of my heart breaking? yes? that's because I don't own Doctor Who

AN - this chapter is just filler before we get to the emotional Gallifrey-related stuff later, but there's a hint of foreshadowing of the Doctor's sadness if you keep your eyes peeled. It's a bit random and characters are prone to sudden mood swings but that's all because of the emotional turmoil they've gone through. Also, thanks to Prospero53223 who pointed out that acetic acid wouldn't explode in fire. Sorry about that! I'm going to claim poetic license to cover up my lack of scientific knowledge cough 23 in my chem exam cough lol

Enjoy :)

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Chapter 8 - Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go:

Of course it had taken the Doctor about twenty minutes to untangle himself from the vine binding him to the tree. Rose sure knew her knots! If he had had his sonic screwdriver it would clearly have taken him a great deal less time. In any case, the Doctor knew that his first priority was to find Rose and stop her before she put herself in danger, so that was what he set his mind to as soon as he had untied himself. Worry clouded his thoughts as he raced up the mountainside, all thoughts of romance and intimacy swept away by fear for the woman he loved.

He broke through the edge of the foliage in time to see Rose standing mere feet away from an angry circle of Slitheen. Before he could run to her, stop her, help her, there was an almighty explosion and he was pushed backwards by the intensity of the blast. He had the wind knocked out of him by the log onto which he had fallen, but he didn't stop to assess his own pain. He could think only of Rose.

He scrambled out, once more, from the thick coverage of ferns and bushes, now limping towards the smoking area. From what he could tell, the Slitheen had all been killed, as there was copious amounts of green goop covering the ground. He squinted through the haze, finally making out a limp body lying on the edge of the debris-strewn ground.

"Rose!" he yelled, running and tripping his way towards her prone form. He dropped to his knees beside her, taking in her closed eyes and torn clothing, and the way that her limbs were sticking out at odd angles. _She must have been thrown back by the intensity of the explosion,_ he thought, worry burning his insides. First he checked that she was still breathing. She was, and so he relaxed a bit, now semi-confident that everything would turn out alright…eventually. He saw his jacket lying on the ground next to her and quickly bundled it up. Raising her head gently, he slipped the jacket underneath as a cushion. Noticing the trickle of dark red blood that was running from the edge of her hairline above her right eye, he drew out a handkerchief and reached across to dab it away, only to find that fresh blood replaced it seconds later. He resorted to searching in his trouser pockets (since his jacket was occupied) for some first aid equipment. It was while he was doing this that Rose began to stir.

Tentatively opening one eye, Rose realised that she was on her back, looking at the swirling sky above her. The clouds had all but dissipated to leave a beautiful mixture of blue and purple sky dotted with silver diamond stars. Rose could smell a range of things, none of which matched the beauty above her head. She could smell a combination of fire smoke, burnt flesh and bad breath - not at all appropriate to this beautiful planet. _This beautiful planet…_ thought Rose, wondering where she was or how she had come to be lying on her back. _Beautiful planet... Neuvolima! I was here, fighting Slitheen and.._

She could hear frantic muttering from somewhere on her left.

"Stupid pockets. Why can't these ones be bigger on the inside? Couldn't swing a cat in here. Not that I'd want to. Try to stay away from cats. Cat nun nurses. That's what I need, a nurse. Forget first aid kits, I should carry a cat nun nurse in my pocket. Never mind the fact that I'm the Doctor, no, I can't even find a stupid bandaid!"

Rose smiled, realising who the voice belonged to, and decided that now would be a great time to sit up.

"Doctor!" she cried enthusiastically as she quickly sat up. A little too quickly, it seemed, for she slumped back down again, eyes slightly crossed.

"Rose!" there was both relief and slight panic in the Doctor's voice as he saw Rose collapse again. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her upper body towards him, assessing the situation. From what he could tell, there would be no lasting damage, just another mild concussion. What a surprise!

"I did it" Rose whispered, smiling lopsidedly at him.

"Yes you did, Rose Tyler. You did it" he whispered back, stroking her hair, observing that she would probably fall back into a state of unconsciousness in another few minutes.

"But, I don't remember what happened after… after.. um" she trailed off, frowning.

"I don't feel too good," she said, paling.

"Come here," he replied, "I think you need a Doctor" and he kissed her full on the lips. Seconds later there was a nasty stinging sensation on the side of his face. Rose had slapped him. Even in her semi-conscious state she could still pack a punch - how like her mother she was.

"Oi!" the Doctor yelped, pulling away to see Rose giving him an angry glare.

"I remember why I tied you up" she said, eyes narrowed, "It's coz you couldn't focus on the Slitheen. You just wanted to fool around!"

"Yeah, well, they're gone now, aren't they. Nothing to stop us" he joked, glad that Rose's memories were returning so quickly.

"This is what got me knocked out in the first place. Fool me once, shame on you" she said, but the Doctor cut her off with another kiss, so relieved was he at her alertness. So he received another slap.

"Ouch! Stop doing that" he said, holding his cheek in his cool hand to soothe the slap mark.

"No" she said simply, making to stand up.

"Why not?" questioned the Doctor as he leapt up to help steady her.

"Firstly, I've just been knocked out by an explosion in which I murdered twenty or so living beings so I'm not really in the mood. Secondly, how can I be sure that this is the normal you talking and not the you that got struck by lightening and can only think of one thing?"

"What's the difference between the two me's?" asked the Doctor, ignoring her first point completely, because he didn't know how to counter it. His way of life demanded that those sorts of decisions - ie to defend, kill, punish - had to be made all the time, and he wasn't sure how to discuss this with Rose, especially in her current state of disarray.

"Of course there's a difference!" she said angrily.

"I disagree for two main reasons. One: We're on honeymoon for one thing so I don't suppose that we'd be different in that respect," he gave her the once over so as to indicate that he was undressing her with his eyes, "And two, you and I are both alive and I believe that both me's would like to celebrate. That makes perfect sense to me" he concluded with an air of someone explaining something very simple to someone very dumb.

"We're alive, yeah, I spose that could be a reason to celebrate" said Rose, her resolve crumbling under the Doctor's completely lustful gaze.

"I'm glad we agree" he said, scooping her up into his arms. "What do you say to me carrying you back to the Tardis - because you've just been injured" he said, as Rose made to interrupt, "and then in the morning, I can tick part b off of our list."

"B? Don't make me think too hard, Doctor, it hurts my head"

"Part b: to take you somewhere exotic and ravish you on a beach" he grinned.

"Sounds good to me" Rose mumbled, before slumping unconscious again in the Doctor's arms.

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Rose tends to do a lot of fainting these days, but i suppose it's an occupational hazard of travelling with the doctor. then again, at least she got to dispatch of that aliens this time - go rose!

please review if you have time - thanks to all of you who have reviewed and who review so regularly - you know who you are. big fanfic cyber-hugs to you all. can i give cyber hugs? is that allowed? i hope so, coz i'm very grateful for all the reviews, keep them coming lol :)


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: If I owned Doctor Who... well, never mind, because I don't

AN - lots of emotional stuff here. its not romantic fluff yet, im sorry, because they both need to work through some stuff. Rose with her first real 'killing' and the Doctor with painful memories of Gallifrey. Sorry if it gets boring - its necessary to the plot, I promise.

And also, I had fun writing it so it shouldn't really be that bad! Enjoy :)

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Chapter 9 - A Moment in the Tardis:

It had been a week since Rose and the Doctor had saved the planet of Neuvolima by destroying the Rackateen family. It had been a week since Rose had actually thrown the acid on them, and it was taking her a full week to get over this realisation. Sure, she had helped to destroy aliens in the past, because they had threatened her life. Daleks, cyber men, the Jagrafess, the werewolf, Krillitanes, etc. She had helped to finish all of them off. But this was different. She had not had the Doctor's help; she had not stopped to think about other options. She felt unclean. The first night that they had spent in the Tardis, she had sat under the shower, crying, not even bothering to remove her clothes. That was where the Doctor had found her, half an hour later. He had helped her change, put her to bed, comforted her and held her in his arms long into the night, but she was still clearly shaken by what had happened.

Now, after a week of floating in the time vortex, she was ready to move on. Their first full week back together had not been a particularly pleasant one, due to her emotional rollercoaster, but she was now ready to start anew, wanting to throw herself back into the action whole-heartedly.

"Doctor," Rose said, she walked into the control room with a bowl of cereal in one hand and an banana in the other, "I was thinking. Do you think it's time we got out of here? Let's visit Earth or New Earth or something." She handed him the banana.

"I don't know Rose," he said apprehensively, "We don't have to keep moving on so quickly if you're not ready"

"But I am, though, that's what I mean. And it's been a week" she said, abandoning the cereal on the jump seat. "I want to get back out there Doctor. I'm ready" she pleaded. He just looked at her, not wanting to discuss the incident with the Raxacoricofallapatorians lest she become upset. Too late.

"Those Rackateen, they were evil. They wanted to destroy that planet and they would've killed me if I hadn't gotten them first. So really, I'm fine" she said firmly.

Rose wasn't the only one who had been deeply affected by the Rackateen, however. The Doctor, though he would never willingly admit it to Rose, was painfully reminded of his own losses by those recent events. The entire family had been wiped out in an instant. _They had deserved it,_ he repeated, convincing himself that what they had done was right. But he couldn't help but be reminded of his own planet, his own family, who had all been killed just as suddenly, just like the Rackateen. He was torn up inside; old wounds had begun to open up and the cracks were beginning to show.

"We'll go in a little while" he replied vaguely, looking through Rose rather than at her. It was at this point when Rose realised that something was wrong with the Doctor. She had been so wrapped up in her own feelings of guilt and remorse, that she had been oblivious to the subtle changes to the Doctor's character. He had been as gentle and kind as ever, that first night, when he found her in the shower. Since then, she realised now, he had been distant and aggravatingly vague. He wasn't rough or taciturn, as he had been in the initial days after the war, but his behaviour was starting to warrant notice from Rose and she had to admit that it was worrying her.

"Doctor, are you alright? You're not really with it" she stated, waving a hand half-heartedly in front of his face.

"Hmm, oh what? No, I'm fine. Just, you know, tired. Haven't had by banana today" he attempted a weak grin and picked up the banana. End of conversation.

* * *

The following hour saw Rose pacing in the costume room of the Tardis. She hadn't known what to do to snap the Doctor out of his reverie and she thought that seeing as how they had never really done their honeymoon properly, they could play a little dress up - just for fun. As she searched the racks of clothing for something with many layers - for the more layers, the more fun it is to peel them off slowly - she thought she heard a sort of soft humming in her head. She realised it was a song. It was a melancholy tune, with soft notes and great sweeping crescendos - it reminded her of a cross between the mellow mediation music that her friend Shareen used to listen to and bagpipes. A strange combination perhaps: it was incredibly sad, and before she knew it Rose had started to cry. Whether the Doctor or the Tardis had been the source of the music, Rose had no idea. But while she was listening and weeping, she had been drawn, trance-like, into a dark, deep corner. Wondering if there was a reason that her legs had taken her to this particular region of the cavernous room, Rose pushed back the long black curtain in front of her - perhaps it was a changing room?

She gasped. In front of her hung the most regal and ancient-looking item of clothing she had ever seen. Flowing red material formed a sort of robe, which was adorned with a reddish leathery shell frame that overed the shoulders. These, like the helmet-like head piece, were rimmed with fine rope and shell pieces, giving the outfit an almost primitive feel.

_This must be from his home planet,_ Rose thought in awe,_ I wish he would have shown it to me himself._

Rose understood that the loss of his people and his home planet had been the most painful experience for the Doctor. She could understand how it felt to lose family, although she recognised that his loss was far greater than hers. She had gained a husband and true friend in relinquishing her family, and yet he, who had lost everything, was constantly revisited by those who had brought about the destruction of his world - the daleks. Despite the fact that Rose understood all of this, she could not help but feel saddened by the fact that the Doctor remained clam-like about Gallifrey. She had never asked, that was true, but in the week that they had been married, he hadn't mentioned it. Considering that this was what was making him so distant, Rose felt a certain degree of annoyance that he hadn't discussed it with her. After all, talking always eased the pain - or so her mum used to say. Her cheeks were damp with tears as she stood staring at the regal outfit hanging before her, and they still were when she heard a noise behind her.

There stood the Doctor, indescribable sadness in his eyes, staring behind Rose at the dress robes hanging in the closet. He heaved a sigh and went to take Rose's hand, knowing that he would feel comfort at the touch of her soft fingers. He looked down into her concerned eyes, which mirrored the sadness of his own.

"Tell me about Gallifrey, Doctor" she said.

* * *

Okay, so there you have it. More emotional stuff in the next chappie coupled with Romantic fluffy goodness and possibly a trip to Gallifrey - if that's possible - i haven't decided yet. sorry about the description of timelord clothing - i tried, i really did!

Also: Sorry in advance - to those who don't know, I'm going away for a couple of days to a place with NO INTERNET!!! so I won't be able to update for three nights. I'm sorry! cowers in fear, but i'm sure you will all cope, lol

I promise to update as soon as i get back - i will make it up with lots of fluffy goodness, so i hope that's okay. but enough of my apologetic rambling.

happy fanficcing - and please review:)


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: "Brilliant, mad as a tree of snakes" - David Tennant in the Commentary of ep 13, season 3. Although he was talking about Saxon's wife, I believe that it would apply to me if I honestly believed that I owned Doctor Who. I think it's safe to say I do not :(

AN - That was a long disclaimer.

Okay, so I have had many many many concerns about this chapter and the next, because it's all about Gallifrey and such. Well, I was worried that I wouldn't describe it right, so I only used pre-existing information that the Dr discloses in other episodes about Gallifrey. Then I created a bit more of a background story for Rose, but I used wiki for help so as to be consistent and continuity-friendly.

Also, I was worried about how Rose would 'see' Gallifrey... so read on and hopefully, it will make sense - enjoy :)

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Chapter 10 - Swapping Stories:

"Tell me about Gallifrey, Doctor" she said.

The Doctor stood, her hand warm in his, considering this request. On the one hand, it would be a relief to be able to talk to someone, but on the other, he didn't want to burden Rose with his sadness. After a moment of deliberation, he decided to tell her all he could about his planet and his people. After all, she was his wife, and she deserved to know. But he avoided the topic of the Time War, because it still caused him far too much pain. Maybe one day he would be able to talk about it, but not for the moment.

"It was perfect to look at, Gallifrey, it was beautiful. It was in the Constellation of Kasterborous… They used to call it the Shining World of the Seven Systems. And on the continent of Wild Endeavour, in the mountains of Solace and Solitude, there stood the Citadel of the Time Lords. The sky there is burnt orange, orange Rose - it was beautiful. The citadel stood under the twin suns, enclosed in a mighty glass dome. And beyond that, the mountains go on forever. Slopes of deep red grass, capped with snow. The second sun would rise in the mountains, the mountains would shine. The leaves on the trees were silver. They caught the light every morning, they lit the forest on fire." He paused, looking back at the red robe hanging in front of him. He felt Rose's hand slip out of his as she wrapped her arms around his neck in a soft hug. He brought his arms to her back, returning the hug gratefully. He rested his head on her shoulder, breathing in the lavender scent of her hair before continuing.

"They were the oldest and most mighty race in the universe. Looking down on the galaxies below, sworn never to interfere, only to watch."

"Doesn't sound like you" Rose commented, her mouth twitching upwards in a half smile. The Doctor gave a laugh, "Well, I always was the odd one out" he said ruefully.

"Never quite fit the mould, ey?" asked Rose, pulling out of the hug and walking towards a couch against the wall.

"That's me. Not quite right" he paused again. "They all died, Rose. My friends, my family, even that orange sky… it's all gone" he finished quietly. There was another short silence, during which Rose considered what to say next. Although the Doctor knew an awful lot about Rose - mostly because she was hard to shut up at the best of times - she felt that she should share some of her life with him. Her life before the Nestene Consciousness, that is; her life before the Doctor. He already had vast knowledge about Earth, having defended it for so long, so she decided instead to tell him the little bit about her history and family that he didn't already know - it would mean something to him.

"I met my best mate Shireen at high school. We used to skip classes together, go and hang out at the chippy instead of taking Chemistry or English. We figured we already spoke english, so what was the point in wasting our time in a classroom. As for chem, never figured it'd really come in handy so why bother? If it weren't for Shireen I never woulda met Jimmy Stone and I probably wouldn't have dropped out. I would have got my A-levels. Anyway, that's Shireen. Bad influence, but so loyal. I could tell her anything." Rose's monologue was interrupted by the Doctor's disbelieving grunt.

"Well, not about you. But, you know, nearly everything," she continued. "Anyways, we met Jimmy one afternoon when we went to the park. He was playing his guitar on a bench under this big old tree we always used to hang out under. We started dating a couple of days after we met. He was another bad influence. I left school to go and live with Jimmy. Have I told you about him before? He was a musician - in a kinda punk/rock band - when we dated I used to go and watch him play in pubs and clubs and stuff. He used to smuggle me in, you know? Anyway, one day I wake up in the flat, all his stuff's gone. Just left a note, said he had to leave. And he did - he left me 800 pound in debt to the landlord. That's when I moved back in with mum and got the job at Henriks. And then I met you" she smiled. Sitting next to her, the Doctor had been staring at his hands. Now, however, he looked Rose directly in the eyes.

"Rose, you are so human" he said simply.

"Am I meant to be insulted, or is that a compliment?" she said, again with that half smile on her face.

"Oh, it's definitely a compliment" he grinned, "Always the domestic approach"

"I take it that's a good thing, then" she poked her tongue out between her teeth, in her characteristic smile.

"You don't know how to cheer me up so you chat. It's very human...Sorry I hadn't told you about it before," he continued softly, "It's just that it… you know. Hurts" smile fading.

"What about your family, Doctor?" Rose asked, softly, worried that she was crossing the line. A long silence ensued, in which Rose panicked slightly.

_Oh crap, Rose, what were you thinking?_ she mentally berated herself. _Clearly he's not ready, or he would've told me already._

"Nah, I should've told you, but like I said - it hurts" he said, not bothering to apologise for hearing her thoughts again.

"So… are you going to?" she asked tentatively.

"I'd rather… it'd be easier, I mean, to show you."

"What? But, Doctor, Gallifrey's gone. You said. It was destroyed in the Time War."

"Yeah, I know" he said, a small smile playing on his lips at Rose's confusion and concern.

"And you also said that it existed out of time and space - I always thought that that was why we couldn't ever go back to a time before the war, to see your people. Coz it was impossible."

"You're absolutely right, Rose. It's completely impossible. And don't give me that look - I haven't cracked or anything. I'm not a couple of tentacles short of an Ood."

"Tentacles short of an Ood?" Rose raised an eyebrow, now genuinely concerned for the Doctor's mental health.

"You get the gist" he retorted.

"Well, what do you mean show me? How can you do that?" she was unable to keep curiosity out of her voice.

"Hold still" he said, as he placed his cool fingers on her temples. "Close your eyes, and come with me".

* * *

Okay, so I hope that the characters were consistent - keeping in mind that they are both on a bit of an emotional rollercoaster so they are both a bit up and down. 

I think that the way in which Rose will see Gallifrey is pretty clever, if not a bit unrealistic - i'm thinking 'girl in the fireplace', I hope :)

Sorry if it disappointed any of you! But please review if oyu have time. Will update soon :) Thanks for all the reviews so far, btw!! You're all making me a very happ fanficcer! (if thats a word)


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: You know the drill... and also, I mention Harry Potter which - like Doctor Who - I do not own. Ouch!

AN - This was really hard to write so I'm really sorry if it doesn't live up to your expectations. The Doctor needed a backstory (which is a tad vague so that ppl will not feel disillusioned/angry with what i did - coz I didn't want to wreck the Doctor) so I created one, using bits of info from various episodes (in the new series) eg, that he had a brother once. I really hope that this chappie doesn't disappoint, coz i know its a big step to take on the doctor's history - coz he's such an enigma - but i felt that at this point it needed to be done. Especially for Rose's sake.

So, yes, I hope you like it (waits nervously with hands over head so as to protect oneself from flames) and enjoy :)

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Chapter 11 - The Doctor and Gallifrey:

Tardis Fact File 4:

The Doctor himself is somewhat of an enigma. He has never revealed his true Gallifreyan name, going only by the title 'doctor' and occasionally, under the alias of John Smith, whenever it is required. He is known as the last of the Time Lords, his people and home planet - Gallifrey - having been destroyed in the last Great Time War. Not a lot is known about his origins, except that he had a lonely childhood despite once having a brother.

The Doctor, though he is reluctant to discuss his childhood, was born on the planet Gallifrey into a small family with one younger brother and an older sister. At the age of eight, like any other Time Lord or Lady, he was taken to the Academy to study history, science, languages, mathematics, humanities and other subjects appropriate for a young Gallifreyan. However, he disgraced his family by running away from the Academy, after looking into the Untempered Schism during an initiation ceremony. He therefore never received formal education or training, and was never granted his own Tardis. His family, though they loved him dearly, were forced to emancipate him according to ancient Time Lord traditions. This hurt his younger brother the most; he was never quite the same after the Doctor had left. The Doctor was forced to rescue his Tardis from the wrecking yard. However, the fact of the matter was that he had stolen her, which caused her to be a bit resistant, resulting in many bumpy rides.

After his initial desertion, the Doctor returned to Gallifrey as an anonymous child to be brought up in an orphanage. It was from this point onwards that he called himself 'the Doctor' for he wanted no-one to know of his true identity, because of the shame it would bring on his family, the hurt it would cause them and the trouble he would face if he was discovered. He was different, shaped in a different mould, and this was not strictly tolerated on Gallifrey - after all, they were a proud and noble race. They swore only ever to watch and never interfere - something the Doctor found it hard to do.

At the end of his formal education, the Doctor continued to travel, but in all this time he never revisited his family. Instead he decided to leave Gallifrey altogether, to find new adventures across the universe. And so he did.

* * *

Rose's mind went blank and she felt completely calm. Then she heard a voice echoing in her head.

"Rose, come with me" the Doctor's voice said clearly, as though he was inside her mind. In fact, she was inside his, but that was a minor detail. Suddenly, she saw a door standing right in front of her. Realising that she had a body to move in, she quickly examined herself - two legs, two arms, a torso and a head, everything was there and in working order. Then she looked to her right, and saw the Doctor standing there, an unreadable expression on his handsome features.

_How can you be inside your own head?_ she asked him.

"You know, you can talk in here - just don't shout coz we're inside my mind and I don't need a head-ache."

"But isn't that, you know, dangerous or something?" Rose whispered, eyes wide.

"Well, if I was a normal person I would say yes, extremely dangerous, do not try this at home kids, but this is me. And, let's face it, I'm brilliant" he concluded, speaking at a normal volume. Rose beamed at him, pleased that he was finally relaxing a bit.  
"And also, I trust you inside my head. After all, you are my wife, and you deserve to see what I see" he slipped his hand into hers, "Allons-y", and with that he pushed open the door.

It was a rather strange experience to stand in someone's thoughts and memories. Behind the door, Rose had expected some sort of a scenery - a specific memory to which the Doctor would grant them access. Perhaps something a bit like a memory in a pensieve- Harry Potter style. But all she could see, stretching on for miles and miles, was a swirling mass of orange, purple, red, green, gold, blue mist - forever changing in coulour and consistency. No pensieve moments here.

"You know Rose, real life isn't necessarily like a film" the Doctor said suddenly.

"Oi! How many times, Doctor? Ask before you read my thoughts"

"You're one to talk, standing in the midst of my many memories"

"You invited me" she cried indignantly.

"Ouch! Lower the decibels or I'm gonna get a head-ache" he whined.

"And another thing," Rose continued to whisper, "What makes you assume that I was thinking about the film and not the book?"

"Were you refering to the book?" the Doctor countered, a smile twitching up the corners of his mouth.

"Well, no, but I do read, you know," Rose defended herself, "I just happen to be a bit of a movie buff"

"Right, sorry. Won't make that mistake again" the Doctor said smiling.

"So anyway, how come it's all blurry and stuff? How come it's not like a specific memory…like in Harry Potter" she mumbled.

"Well, Rose, I didn't exactly have time to think about what I wanted to show you, so I'm not particularly focused on anything right now. As a result, the haziness before you is all my poor Time Lord mind can manage. I don't know where to begin..."

"Why don't you show me where you grew up?" Rose suggested, "That'd be a good place to start"

The Doctor heaved a sigh.

"What's wrong? You grew up somewhere - it can't have been that bad" Rose tried to be supportive.

"It's not that, it's just… it won't be what you're expecting." And with that, the Doctor launched into the story of how he left home and wound up in an orphanage in the slums of the Citadel. The mist surrounding them began to solidify as an entire landscape began to form, stretching out before them...

* * *

AN - The next bit is going to be snippets of the Doctor's life on Gallifrey that he shows Rose. If you have any ideas please let me know

Also, please review - they make my day! Thanks so much to those of you who review pretty much every single chapter of everything - i truly appreciate it.

next chapter should be up soon, now that my writers block is partially gone - thanks for sticking with this story :)


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, or his history which I am now creating with outrageous poetic liscence so apologies if it does not live up to expectations!

AN - Again, apologies if this doesn't live up to expectations. This chapter and the next are mostly descriptive, not a lot actually happens because this is setting up for emotional trials and ultimate cuteness at the end. I see the light at the end of the tunnel, which is good coz this is the hardest fanfic i've ever written and it's caused me incredible writers block. But I hope you're all liking it so far (which i think you are - 67 reviews - thank you all soooo much!) and that it's not too boring, lol. This is en extra long chapter to make up for the fact that i haven't updated in yonks! Enjoy :)

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Chapter 12 - The Orphanage:

In front of Rose, the swirling rainbow mass started to take shape. Before long it had arranged itself into a long street with perfectly circular marble stones paving the footpath. The street was bordered by rather dilapidated, though still impressively grand, buildings on either side. Having finished his brief explanation of his history to Rose, and receiving gestures of sympathy from her, the Doctor led the way down the street, two paces in front of his companion, without uttering another word. They passed apparently sandstone buildings, joined together like terrace houses until, at the very end of the street, there was a rather large, flat house. The only weatherboard house in the street, it's blue painted walls were peeling slightly, and it sported a crooked chimney in the very centre of its roof. If Rose hadn't known it to be the Doctor's orphanage - the place where he had grown up and been taught, instead of learning at the academy - she would not have found it particularly impressive. She knew that it was in this building that dedicated teachers and academics taught the lonely time lords of tomorrow, but all in all it was rather unimpressive what with its institutional-looking windows all in rows, and its small patch of silver grass wilting on the front lawn.

Silently, the Doctor stood at the gate, staring at the building with a muddle of emotions on his face. He was at once happy to be home, and completely devastated at the knowledge that it was now all gone. Rose placed a hand on his shoulder, but he remained still.

"I was about nine or ten when I came here. A year or so after I ran away from the Academy. I was accepted straight away, not just coz I was alone, or coz I was smart. It was because I was different, and so I fitted in. It's a strange logic, really, when you think about it. But that was how it was.

"All the boys were in a dormitory together on that side of the house," he gestured to his left, "And the girls were over there" he pointed to his right.

"Where were your lessons?" Rose's asked, genuinely interested. One of her friends at Henrik's had been an orphan, but Rose had never asked where she'd gone to school. In response, the Doctor opened the front door, blue like the rest of the house, and ushered Rose inside. They walked together down a pristine corridor that vaguely reminded Rose of a retirement home - sterile, but with homely touches. The second door on the left revealed a large chemistry laboratory, complete with the usual Bunsen burners, tables, computers and varied gadgets, not to mention huge sciencey-looking vats and machinery that was strictly based on Time-Lord science.

"I learnt how to split the atom in that room" the Doctor said wistfully, "among other things". They moved on to open the door on the other side of the corridor, revealing a lecture theatre as large as that at any university. It never ceased to amaze Rose that things could actually be bigger on the inside, as from the exterior the house did not appear at all large. They proceeded to inspect four more lecture theatres (for multiple languages, maths, history, geography), two more laboratories (for physics and biology), a mini stage with audience seating (to practise public speaking, according to the Doctor), and a 'tech' room which was just an overly large storage cupboard full of bits of junk that reminded Rose of the Tardis console. No doubt young children took just as much pleasure in tinkering around with bits and bobs of machinery as the grown-up Doctor did.

"So where are all the people, then?" Rose asked softly, not wanting to upset the Doctor.

"Well, this is a memory, and I chose to show you my favourite part of the day. No-one's in the classrooms, coz they're all at lunch" he replied, opening the heavy double doors at the very end of the corridor. Rose walked through them to see a grand room stretched out in front of her. The floor was a varnished parquet, reflecting the golden ceiling above. The room was lined with six wooden tables in two rows of three, with an extra one out the front of the room on a small raised platform for the staff. The hall was full of children of all ages (Rose would've guessed probably between six and seventeen) packed onto long benches at the tables, eating what she presumed to be lunch. It was very noisy, with the clattering of plates and cutlery, the munching of hungry mouths and the laughter of the children. For such a pompous-sounding race, they didn't stand on ceremony, so to speak. In fact, they were rather rowdy and unmannered - although utterly charming to Rose. She looked around the tables for the memory version of her doctor. Then she mentally slapped herself across the back of her head - he had regenerated several times since childhood so he clearly wouldn't look the same! With the uncanny intuition and good timing of a psychic, the Doctor pointed himself out to her. She smiled. He was small and weedy - probably would've come up to her hip - with sandy brown hair and a ferocious appetite. His second hand clothes looked careworn from Rose's vantage point and she wondered again who had been so kind as to look after him and all the other orphans of Gallifrey. In fact, there were quite a lot of orphans for such a traditional and noble race. Particularly for a race who, generally speaking, lived hundreds and hundreds of years. Rose concluded awkwardly that it was likely that most of these children - like the Doctor - would have parents still alive who were unable to care for them, or simply didn't want to anymore. She was struck with a sudden sadness. Pulling her out of this melancholy, the Doctor pointed over to the staff table.

"That woman on the end, we called her Matron, she was the one that found me. Or I found her, whichever way it goes. Anyway, she brought me here and cleaned me up, enrolling me for all the appropriate subjects for someone my age. She made sure that I always had enough to eat, and wasn't falling behind in class, and wasn't being picked on. She took a special interest in me, I think, I don't know why." He indicated to a blond woman with blue-grey eyes. She looked young but tired, as though the weight of the world was on her shoulders, but her smile lit up the room as she spoke with the professor next to her.

"Maybe your parents had something to do with it?" Rose suggested tentatively. "Maybe they wanted to make sure you were safe even though they couldn't do it themselves coz it's against tradition or courtesy or whatever. Maybe they made sure that she checked up on you"

"Hmm, maybe" said the Doctor, disbelievingly. There was a short pause.

"So what's the significance of the six tables? Is it some sort of Gallifrey tradition?" Rose asked.

"Nah, it's the house tables"

"Oh, so like in Harry Potter?" Rose grinned cheekily.

"How did I know you were gonna say that?" he replied smiling. "The houses weren't named after famous Time Lords or anything, though, coz there are too many. We'd have hosues coming out of our ears if we did that. Our houses are named after letters of the Greek alphabet."

"Greek alphabet, hey? That's sufficiently random. Why that alphabet?"  
"Sounded good. There was alpha, epsilon, omicron, omega, sigma and theta"

"Posh!" Rose commented.

"My friends called me Theta Sigma, occasionally, before I became the Doctor"

"You weren't always the Doctor? I'm shocked" Rose joked.

"Ha ha," he said sarcastically, "I was captain of Theta house and Sigma was our main rival. I don't quite get how the name came about, or I can't remember anyway" he trailed off, looking distant again. The scene around them became vaguely foggy.

"So, anyway, school can't be your absolute favourite place in all of Gallifrey, can it? I mean, I hated school. It was institutional torture if you ask me" Rose tried to change the topic and focus him on happier thoughts.

"How would you know? From what I can gather you didn't go all that much" he replied smiling.

"Hey!" she hit him playfully on the arm "I went enough to appreciate that it was not worth my time, okay? Anyway, answer my question. Where else did you like to go?" she probed.

"Well, it's still here at the school" said the Doctor, "But you probably won't think much of it. We don't have to go see it."

"Yes we do" Rose persisted, "It's your memory and you can take me anywhere if you want to. Come on, I want to see" she gave him her best puppy-dog eyes. They worked.

"Okay," he conceded, taking her hand, "It's just over here" and he led her out the side door.

* * *

Okay, one more descriptive chapter and then, hopefully, ultimate cuteness

please review if you have time :) hope you liked it!


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: sobbing hysterically - get the gist?

AN - So, I haven't updated in ages and I feel terrible but now I have written pretty much all of it (in 3 chapters, this being one of them, so it's all good). I hope that this story is still good and still getting read, coz despite the writers block i have had fun writing it.

Also, in the previous chapter it should have said red grass, not silver. So please use your imaginations coz I havent changed it yet.

Thanks for sticking with this story even though it's taken me so long and please please please review it if you have time! Hope you like it! Enjoy :)

* * *

Chapter 13 - The Secret Garden:

Expecting the scenery in front of her to swirl and change once more, Rose gripped the Doctor's hand tightly for support, but found she did not need it. They were still standing in the same memory. Rose realised that they must still be at the orphanage and yet, it didn't look anything like the interior of a building. They were standing, instead, in what seemed to be a small courtyard, surrounded by four tall walls.

"The dormitories are all around us," the Doctor indicated to the three bricked walls facing them, "I used to sleep up there". He pointed to a window with blue curtains. It was the only window with curtains, and seemed, at present, to be the only window with the shutters thrown open in hope of catching a non-existent breeze. Rose squinted at the window, hoping to spot the Doctor before realising a) that his memory-self would still be at lunch and b) that the blue curtains had small yellow bananas on them. Very the Doctor!

"So what is this, then, the playground?" Rose asked, taking in her surroundings. The small courtyard afforded very little room to move, although what it provided was rather impressive. The deep red grass that she had noticed out the front of the building grew in abundance. It added to the lushness of the garden which seemed more circular than square. She softly let go of the Doctor's hand and walked anti-clockwise around the space. Enormous trees were neatly lined up in a single ring around the garden; their faded-brown trunks had a slightly shimmering quality (like oil spilt on water), whilst delicate silver leaves sprouted from the branches. Rose had slipped off her shoes and was now enjoying the sensation of the warm grass underfoot as she reached out to touch the flimsy leaves gently. The Doctor watched her progress around the garden before kicking off his own shoes to join her. They walked in silence for a bit (about halfway around the ring) before Rose started talking again.

"So how come this place is so special?" she asked, curiosity barely hidden.

"Why? Don't you like it?" he asked, disappointment tainting his sentence.

"No, it's beautiful, I was just wondering if there was any particular, you know, sentimental reason for you liking it so much" she replied, trying to reassure him.

"It's kind of a long-ish story"

"I don't mind"

"Okay then, but don't say I didn't warn you." but Rose just smiled encouragingly.

"When I first came here, I was so alone. I had just run away from the Academy. I'd stolen the Tardis and zoomed off about the Universe for a bit to sulk and brood and whatnot. Then when I came here again, back to Gallifrey I mean, I remember why I had run away in the first place. I was different - I couldn't stand the conformity of it all"

_Explains the banana curtains,_ thought Rose.

"That's what's so great about Earth and humans," he continued as though he hadn't heard her thoughts, "You're all so individual and creative and accepting… well, for the most part. Earth had always been my favourite place to visit. I suppose it helps that humans look pretty much the same in appearance to my own race. And that's why it annoys me so much when you lot stop thinking for yourselves. Always after the latest update, latest enhancement. Like with the ear pods on Pete's World.." he stopped, throwing a cautionary glance at Rose. Her expression remained unreadable. He thought that it was unusual for her not to defend her planet so he decided to continue with his rant.

"Anyway, I'm off on a bit of a tangent. Where was I?" he paused.

"Ah, yes. So I first came here and I was still alone. Nobody here fitted into society, mind you - we were orphans for a reason - but I had trouble getting on with these misfits. I was - and I don't mean to brag but - a bit cleverer than them and I used to get picked on for it. So I used to come out to this courtyard just to be by myself." He pointed at a small swing, hanging from a thick branch of one of the sturdy looking trees. "I used to sit there and read about the milky way - particularly about Earth and ancient human traditions. I found it all fascinating." Rose smiled at this. Good old Doctor, still amazed by humanity.

"One day, the matron came out and found me reading here all by myself. Like I said earlier, she seemed to take a special interest in me from the get go. But I think she just had a knack for guessing how others were feeling. She asked me why I was all alone, and when I wouldn't answer she looked at the book I was reading.

"'Earth and the Milky Way?' she'd said, 'why would you want to read that?' When I didn't reply, she got the message that I wanted to be alone. But the next day when I'd come out here to read, I noticed something different". The Doctor turned Rose's attention to a large oak tree hiding in a little corner behind all the silver leaved shrubbery.  
"The matron planted that oak to let me know that I was welcome no matter where I was. She was a very strong believer in the phrase 'home is where the heart is'. Of course, she didn't know I had the Tardis in hiding, ready for when I wanted to leave here again. The Tardis is my real home, but for a while this place was like a sanctuary for me. That's why it's special." Rose looked at her Doctor, facing the oak with glazed over eyes. She slipped her hand into his, as she always did, letting him feel the cool amber-coloured ring on her finger. A tear slipped rolled swiftly down the Doctor's cheek. Just one.

Feeling a sudden surge of sadness deep in the pit of her stomach, that was part due to psychic link, part due to pity for her Doctor, Rose fastened her arms around his waist and held him in a warm hug. There was no romance, no lust, just a simple hug to let him know that she would always be there for him.

Well, no lust to begin with. After about a minute of resting his chin on Rose's head, reflecting on what had been and what he had lost, the Doctor realised that he should really make the most of what he has.

The scenery around them became fuzzy once more, and with an odd sensation in her head (a cross between a brain-freeze and the effects of a rollercoaster), Rose was back on her two feet in the real world once more. Until the Doctor swept her off her feet, that is, and carried her to their bedroom.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: If I owned Doctor Who I would write myself into the script and have david tennant marry me, but clearly that hasn't happened so it's safe to say that I don't own doctor who... but there's always hope.

AN - Second last chapter (hooray!) It's written from Rose's point of view in the form of a diary. I'm not sure that Rose would keep a diary - maybe for all her wierd and wonderful adventures - but she kind of explains why she's writing in one here so i hope that's ok.

Thanks for all your reviews - they truly make me smile... so keep them coming! lol, enjoy :)

* * *

Chapter 14 - Operation Cheer Up The Doctor:

Okay, so I'm not one to keep a diary. Mostly coz the Doctor's a bit of a nosy parker, and he'd probably read this, which I don't want him to do because it's PRIVATE! So Doctor, if you're reading this, you are invading my privacy and clearly it is not good for a marriage if the husband doesn't trust the wife. So butt out! Mind you, we have no secrets, so I spose there's really no harm in you reading this. But I want to write about you now, and that could be awkward so if you want to talk, just come and see me. I'll be in my old bedroom because you aren't really talking to me.

So, the Doctor's not not talking to me, he's just not really talking to me. I think that he can't think of anything to say. We got back from our trip down memory lane approximately two Earth days ago and had incredible, mind-blowing sex! Seriously, diary, if you only knew! I saw colours I'd never seen before!! But enough about that. I'm talking to you as if you're an animate object - what's with that? Why am I asking you? You're not going to answer. Shut up Rose!

Oh, so now I'm writing to myself, am I?

Oh God, I need sleep!

The reason I haven't been sleeping, dearest diary, is because ever since we got back from 'Gallifrey' the Doctor has been acting strangely. He will sit, perhaps for hours (an odd occurrence in itself - him sitting!) and just stare at things. The first day, he stared at me. The whole day! It was a little creepy actually. I can't hear his thoughts, either. It's like he's blocking me out.

I think he's still upset about the visit. Duh! Thanks so much Captain Obvious!

Call me crazy, but it makes sense that seeing everything you loved and lost would make you appreciate life even more. Is that why he kept staring at me? Frankly, I'd rather we talked. Or held hands. Or ran for our lives from some inter-galactic threat that we just happen to run into.

…

I just went out into the Tardis console room, and the Doctor was there. He wasn't staring at me, though, which is an improvement. He was lying on the metal grating on his stomach, head in hands, kind of peering through the grating to all that stuff down below. He looked up when he heard me coming in. Our conversation went as follows:

"Hey. What are you doing?"

"Just trying to guess how many Zeus plugs it'd take to fill up this entire section beneath the console."

"Oh… Why?"

"Felt like it"

"Okay" (he resumes staring through the floor)

"Doctor?"

"Yes Rose"

"Are you okay?"  
"Yes Rose. Are you?"

"Mhmm, fine. Right as rain. Fit as a fiddle. Couldn't be better" (I was nervous - don't judge me!)

"That's good. See you at lunch"

"K, have fun", at which point I leave the room, irritated by his dismissal of me. I should probably go and make us some lunch. Maybe a nice banana sandwich? I think he'd appreciate that. Even if he can't tell me.

…

So diary, did you know that the Tardis can communicate with me? I'm sure you didn't know. I had kinda forgotten it could do that.

I was sitting in the jump-seat, watching the Doctor eat his banana sandwich with all the enthusiasm of a Greenpeace supporter on a whaling ship, and I had a sudden epiphany. I thought of a way to cheer him up! I'm not going to write it down here coz if the Doctor gets bored, I'm sure he will want something to read. And, let's face it, this is pretty darn interesting! So, I was sitting there and suddenly I got this picture in my head, like I do when the Doctor and I are sharing thoughts. But I knew somehow that these thoughts didn't belong to him. I don't know how I could tell. It was just a different feeling, you know? … No, of course you don't. You're a book.  
Anyway, I'm going to go and get started on operation 'cheer up the Doctor'. Catchy name, isn't it!

Rose Sigma-Theta Tyler

Or that's what it would be if I wanted to change my name. But I don't. Or would it be Theta-Sigma. I can't remember. Anyway, no time for a tangent. Off to hatch plans, thanks to the Tardis. Wish me luck!

Ps, Doctor, if you're reading this, you know two days ago when we.. You know. Well, I said it was mind blowing - but don't get a big head. There's always room for improvement, you can trust me on this! Xo

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AN - ok, so i didnt proof read that. my logic being that it is a diary entry and you dont proof read diary entries unless you are a bit strange (no offence to anyone who proof reads their diary entries!!) so yes - apologies if it doesnt make sense. i think it does, but then, i wrote it. and also, its one am so...

also, hooray for rose - always there to cheer up the doctor! i think its pretty obvious what she's going to do to cheer up the doctor but a big tasty cyber-muffin for anyone who can guess (yes, i know it is traditional for cybercookies to be shared, but i am in the mood for a muffin - so muffins it is) - thanks for reading and reviewing:)


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own the Doctor or his unique and quirky personality. But I do have his heart, as he had mine. And we shall live in eternal bliss.

cough Yeah, I still don't own Doctor Who.. but if you don't know that already well... here, have a virtual hug - sorry to have mislead you, lol

AN - SECOND LAST CHAPTER! i think.. now, who would have thought the doctor wouls have a diary!? well, me, because i think he's just that bit random and unexpected. its a bit jumbled, but then, so are the doctor's thoughts so i thought it fitted. also, i have trouble rearranging and proofing at 1.10 in the morning. sorry! Hope you like this chapter :) enjoy!

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Chapter 15 - The Doctor Diary:

Dear Diary,

You know, humans began this whole trend of writing in diaries like they're living, breathing entities. Clearly you will not respond to any questions posed by me, rhetorical or otherwise, or react to any big announcements I happen to make, which makes me wonder why I should address you like a person at all. Maybe I shouldn't get hung up on the details. I'm only writing because I can't seem to talk to anyone at the moment. By anyone, I mean a certain Rose Tyler in particular. I mean, I could talk if I wanted to, I just can't really think of anything to say. I know! I'm just as shocked as you are. Me with nothing to say? Has the world gone mad? (Having previously established that you will not be answering me, I do not require a response).

Actually, now that I think about it, if you were a diary from the planet Scrinarbulus in the Elusia Galaxy, you would be able to talk to me because their diaries are made from living animals. In fact, their diaries are living animals. They kinda look like chalk-boards with legs. But I'm pretty sure you're not a chalk-board with legs. Ergo, I should try to get to the point.

Rose and I arrived back in the Tardis and have been floating in the Time Vortex for about two Earth days now, after the 'Gallifrey' incident. I have taken to calling it 'G-day' in my head because the memory of it fills me with dread and remorse every time I think about it. (Although the name G-day, when written, really just sounds like slang for hello Down Under it actually makes me shudder when I think about it). I don't know what possessed me to show her Gallifrey - and through my memories no less! I could have shown her photographs or movies or something, but no - I had to literally take her inside my memories and make her uncomfortable. What was I on!?

Wow, it seems two days of sitting and saying nothing has really caused this random case of verbal (written) diarrhoea. Apologies! I just can't bring myself to face Rose. And the Tardis seems to be giving me the cold shoulder. Not that she has shoulders. Maybe I'm imagining it. I can't seem to sense what Rose is feeling either. I think, and correct me if I'm wrong because generally speaking I'm correct ninety-nine point nine five percent of the time, but I think that in allowing Rose to walk among my thoughts with me, I've somehow damaged our psychic link and in the process the Tardis got disconnected or something too. I mean, I could still fly her if I wanted to - the Tardis I mean, not Rose - but at the moment I just can't get motivated. And I'm more than a little distressed that I can't communicate with either of them telepathically at the moment.

Maybe I should start with what happened. Okay? After we kind of 'left' my memory, we both sort of fell on top of one another right here on the Tardis console. At this point I was feeling… bereft, as though I had lost everything. I knew in my head that I have Rose and the Tardis and whatnot, but the wounds left by the time war were ripped open anew and I felt so sad. Rose seemed to be able to sense this. I looked down into her eyes, because I was on top of her at this point, and all I could see was concern and sadness. So I kissed her. I didn't want her to feel sad, or guilty, or inadequate so I kissed her. And then we… well, I don't kiss and tell… but it was un-bloody-believable! I need not say anymore. It was that good!

But afterwards - the next morning, I mean - Rose still looked worried and vaguely upset. I feel bad because maybe she didn't want to see Gallifrey. She said she did, but maybe those were just words? I don't know. I feel as though I've violated her mind-space or something - even though we were in my memories. Anyway, I spent the rest of the day not talking because I was worried of what we might talk about if we did talk. Like my family. I don't want to talk about them much at the moment. Like I said, it hurts too much. But I did keep an eye on Rose for the rest of the day. I just wanted to make sure she was okay. I chanced glances at her every now and then. I don't think she noticed it, to be frank. I was the height of subtle.

Anyway, the second day I avoided her all together. I thought that maybe she would need some alone time to reconsider her marriage to a complete and utter emotional wreck such as myself.

I love her, I really do. I know I didn't say it enough before. Back before Doomsday and Torchwood and the War. Back before we got separated. I knew I loved her then and I didn't, I couldn't, tell her because I was afraid. Then when we were reunited, I didn't miss an opportunity. It's like what they say - we don't know what we've got until it's gone. That was true of Rose and it is true of Gallifrey.

There I was gallivanting off around the Universe when I could have been at home with my people and my family. I came back for the war. I came back because of my sense of duty, not because I had wanted to. But only now that it's gone, can I truly appreciate just how unique it was. It was beautiful and ancient. It was then and forever. It was home.

…

I just went to check on Rose. I snuck around to her room - her old bedroom, the one she slept in before we got married. I peeked through the door to see her hunched over on her bed with her fluffy pink diary, scribbling away like nobody's business. Even when we aren't doing stuff together like running for our lives or learning about Raxaxcoricofallapatorian culture, we still tend to do the same stuff. It's more than a little frightening.

She must have a lot on her mind. I haven't seen her use that journal since Mickey got stranded on Pete's World, before we knew he could come back. Rose had been so upset then. She spent hours in her room with that journal. So this does not bode well.

Maybe I should just ask her what's wrong.

_But what if she turns the question back on you?_

I can handle it

_No you can't. You don't want to let on how much you miss them to her, do you?_

No, of course not! I don't want to burden Rose anymore than I already have.

_Oh, so this is a guilt thing?_

No!

_Yes it is, I can see right through you - I'm that voice in your head, remember? Why are you writing down what I say?_

Self preservation.

_Oh, makes sense._

So should I ask her what's wrong or not?

_It depends on whether you're ready for the answer or not, doesn't it_

Rose and I have no secrets.

_So what are you waiting for? Go talk to her!_

How is it that you always outsmart me?

_How is this outsmarting you? I'm merely helping you to see and admit what you already know. You wanted to talk to someone about Gallifrey, and that someone was your wife. She asked you about it because she knew you needed to talk. You feel guilty because you think she only asked out of a sense of responsibility. But in actual fact, she was curious and wanted you to not be alone any longer. And therefore, you should go talk to her, for you have much to talk about and a few emotional hurdles to work through - ie why you always push people away._

Stunned silence

_Hello? Are you still there?_

Of course I'm still here. I'm me! You're the annoying little voice in my head so if anyone should have left it should have been you!

_Sure, sure, whatever you say._

Okay, so that's done and dusted. Now I should go speak to Rose. I will explain why I've been so distant (even though it's obvious - I think she just needs me to say it myself). I will then proceed to ask her if she wants to know anything about my past. To finish off, I will reassure her that I am fine and that I love her. This should clear the air significantly, I hope.

Now I can see why humans have diaries. Clever little apes!

The Doctor xx

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Please review if you have time 

thank you guys all so much so far for the lovely reviews. im so excited to reach 76 so thank you all sooooo much! one chapter to go - i hope it doesn't disappoint (i have been putting it off, so sorry about that too!) cyber hugs


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, if I did i would probably proof read more than once

AN - LAST CHAPTER:) it's a bit confusing tho, coz the doctor and rose are suffering from a lack of communication, so it takes them a while to work out what's wrong with each other. I hope it makes sense in the end!

I hope you all like it:) :) :)

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Chapter 16 - A Touch of Paradise:

"Rose?"

The Doctor's call rang out throughout the Tardis, but he got no response. He had checked the control room, the wardrobe, their bedroom, her bedroom, the bathroom. In fact, he checked just about every room he could ever remember, but nowhere could he find Rose Tyler. It began as just frustrating - when he finally wanted to talk, he couldn't find her. Now, however, he was starting to get worried.

"Rose, where are you? I need to talk to you" he called for the umpteenth time.

"We need to talk? That doesn't sound good" came a voice from behind him. He whipped around to see Rose standing there, hands on hips, eyebrows raised. The Doctor engulfed her in a hug which, while it melted her heart, very nearly broke her ribs.

"Can't breathe" she managed to gasp, and the Doctor released her right away. He held onto her shoulders as though afraid that she would disappear again, and looked her steadily in the eye. Rose thought it was an almost disapproving look - as though the Doctor was about to tell her off for something. In actual fact, this was the look that the Doctor was giving to the love of his lives whom he hadn't communicated with for practically two solid days. It was easy to get the two confused.

"Why do we need to talk?" she asked cautiously.

"Hmm? Oh, I wanted to apologise" he remarked casually, letting go of Rose and turning to walk back down the corridor towards the control room.

"Doctor, stop" Rose commanded, "What are you apologising for?". Rose was genuinely baffled.

"I've not quite been with it these past few days. I know you've noticed. I haven't exactly been chatty" he smiled.  
"It's okay Doctor, I get it. You have lost your family and everything you hold dear, and I go and stupidly ask to see it. I'm the one who should be apologising." Rose muttered, looking at the floor, finally allowing the remorse and guilt she had ignored overtake her.

"I should have known that it would be difficult for you to talk about Gallifrey, but I pushed you to show me anyway. I was just curious and I wanted to know as much as I could. And, I don't know why, but I thought it might help you move on a bit to see it again. I don't know. I wasn't really thinking" she continued, a tear rolling down her cheek. The Doctor lifted a cool finger to brush it away. As his finger grazed her cheek, she felt a prickle of electricity - the pure emotion of the moment combined with their love for one another - and it made her tingle.

"Everything I hold dear?" he asked.

"What?" Rose looked up, confused again.

"You said I've lost everything I hold dear. I haven't lost you though" he said, smiling. This time it was Rose's turn to hug the Doctor. Unluckily for him, he got a mouthful of blonde hair in the process.

"I love you" she whispered.

"I love you too. But I bet you knew I was going to say that" the Doctor grinned into her hair.

"Now, like I was saying, I have an apology to make" he continued, breaking the hug, and taking one of her hands in his as usual.

"I feel so guilty for ignoring you these past two days. Well, actually, the first day I was staring at you without talking, and the next I was just not talking. So, yeah, sorry about that. I didn't really know what to say. At first I was thinking about Gallifrey and the people I've lost and the places I used to love. All in all, it made me a bit melancholic. So then I decided to think about something which never fails to cheer me up. You!"

Rose smiled at this sadly, for while she was flattered by this admission, she knew that the Doctor had still not been restored to his usual bouncy self after that one day.

"Anyway, I got to thinking about you and I realised how unfair it was of me to put all that pressure on you. I know that you said you wanted to see Gallifrey, but I then thought that maybe you were just being polite, and in showing you I had somehow inadvertently revealed to you what an emotional wreck I am, and then made you sad as a result" he finished, somewhat breathlessly.

"Wow, you can really tell that you haven't spoken to someone else in a while" Rose grinned.

"But seriously, I'm so sorry if me going all hermit-y upset you or something."  
"It wasn't so much that. It was more that I was worried for you. I didn't want you to be upset for your family or anything" Rose replied, relieved that the Doctor's sadness hadn't been caused by anything particularly drastic. Although she was a bit upset to hear that it was his concern for her that upset him. Oh what talking could have done to spare their pain!

"Rose, I feel that we are going round in circles" the Doctor said, "Let's just agree that we just worry too much about one another and that, in future-"

"Or past or present" Rose joked.

"-That we always talk about our problems, okay?"

"Agreed" Rose grinned, "Now I have something to show you" she gestured to the silver door behind her. _This is strange,_ thought the Doctor, _pretty much everything on this ship's blue or gold. I don't remember a silver door._

"That's because it's new and I chose silver so it would stand out" said Rose, grinning from ear to ear.

"It's back!" yelled the Doctor, picking up Rose and swinging her around him in a big circle, "Hooray for psychic links!"

"Yeah, great, just what I need. I head full of big face" Rose joked. The Doctor snorted.

"Anyway, back to the matter at hand" he set her down, "Why is that door silver?"

"Because, Doctor, behind that door is something very special. I needed the door to be different to those all over the rest of the Tardis, and so it is. Silver's good, don't you think, it kinda blends in but stands out at the same time"

"That's an oxymoron"

"You're an oxymoron" she retaliated.

"You're just a moron" he said, laughing.

"Oh, shut your mouth!" she grinned, feeling relief wash over her again in the comfort of such an easy, if not familiar, conversation.

"Like I was saying, behind this door is something very special. The Tardis helped me get things organised properly, so most of the credit can go to her". Rose gently opened the door for the Doctor, letting him step inside first, before following and shutting it behind them.

The Doctor's jaw dropped.

Around him were the four walls of the courtyard from his orphanage on Gallifrey. He stood on a circle-ish expanse of soft red grass surrounded by silver leaved trees.

"Rose, this is…" he said, emotion rendering him unable to finish his sentence. She walked up behind him and slipped a hand into his. The walked over to the swing hanging from a particularly sturdy tree, and the Doctor plonked down onto it. Rose began pushing his light frame forwards and backwards on the swing, until the Doctor swung higher and higher. He whooped with joy, before jumping off while in the air. He landed with absolute grace regaining his composure immediately, leaving Rose wondering if this was the same man who had just whooped out loud whilst on a tyre swing.

Rose lay down on the grass. It wasn't itchy or wet, it was springy and surprisingly comfortable. Eyes closed, she heard the Doctor lie down next to her.

"I love what you've done with the ceiling" he remarked casually, referring to the swirling sky-like ceiling above them.

"Thought you would" she said, over the moon that the Doctor liked her gift to him, "It's just a touch of paradise, don't you think".

He smiled in agreement.

"Rose?"

"Yes Doctor?"

"Thank you" he said simply, turning to look at her.

"Any time" she said, her tongue poking between her teeth in her trade-mark smile.

They lay for a long time on that grass before the silence was broken again.

"Doctor?"

"Yes Rose?"

"I love you"

"I love you too, Rose"

"And also… I was wondering?"

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Is there a nursery on the Tardis?"

THE END

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lol, please dont hate me for the last line. you may interpret it as you wish. 

a huge massive thankyou to all my lovely reviewers who have been so diligent and thorough when it comes to boosting my self esteem, lol

in particular thank you to: gaiafreedom21, VampMistress, Doctor-Lost, MontyPythonFan, tylerfan23, NewDrWhoFan, Prospero53225, Wanabee, DeanParker, MythStar Black Dragon - you guys rock my world! thanks so so so much!!


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